Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

The Dangers of Smoking in Bed by Mariana Enríquez

130 reviews

roskoff's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

A compelling albeit stomach-turning compilation of short horror stories. Very unique; the monsters and monstrous circumstances weren’t anything I’d ever read before. Reoccurring themes included life after death, bad neighborhoods, violent and compulsive masturbation, curses, and incredibly antisocial behavior. A good read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Violence, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, and Injury/Injury detail

maisiebrowne1's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Mental illness, Body horror, Gore, Death, Cannibalism, Suicide, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Trafficking

temi1008's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Body horror

Minor: Excrement

kyarabereading's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This is definitely one of the darkest & most haunting books I have read thus far, & I didn’t know how I’d handle that originally, but it was definitely worth the read. The writing style, the characters, the stories in general - they really stick with you even long after you’ve read them. And the endings - whether you could see them coming or not - hit you like a punch in the gut. Each one is really heartbreaking & horrifying in its own way.  

I will say I think some stories were better than others, but maybe if I gave it another read sometime in the future, I’ll change my mind about that lol I definitely had some immediate favorites & that made certain stories pale in comparison. But I feel like that’s usually the case with short story collections. Nonetheless, I thought it was a pretty good short story collection!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Grief, Self harm, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child death, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Excrement, Torture, Kidnapping, and Trafficking

sara_n's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Medical content, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Cannibalism, Blood, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Excrement, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide

Moderate: Kidnapping, Murder, Vomit, and Drug abuse

meaghanelizabook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug use, Transphobia, Cannibalism, Physical abuse, Medical content, Suicide, Child death, Drug abuse, Vomit, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Miscarriage, and Trafficking

olivia_martin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Grief, Mental illness, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Confinement, Pedophilia, Violence, and War

roxvna's review against another edition

challenging dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

not_another_ana's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Los dos sabíamos cuál podía ser el final, y no nos importaba.

Colección de cuentos cortos de horror que tocan varias temáticas como lo grotesco, lo sexual y la obsesión. Ya había leído Las Cosas Que Perdimos en el Fuego, de la misma escritora, y por ende esta antología no me parece tan bien trabajada. Se nota que esta colección es ya de hace muchos años y que estamos ante una Mariana Enríquez que todavía no tiene la peripecia de la actual. Tampoco me parecieron aterradores, creo que porque en general tratan de un terror relacionado más a lo sexual y el gore lo cual me aburre.

Son doce cuentos:
-El desentierro de la angelita: una joven es asediada por el espíritu de una niña, 3/5
-La Virgen de la tosquera: un grupo de amigos nadan en una tosquera con fatales consequencias, 3/5
-El carrito: el ataque a un mendigo por una comunidad desencadena una ola de sufrimiento en la vecindad, 4,5/5
-El aljibe: en búsqueda de una cura para su terrible ansiedad la protagonista descubre un secreto de su infancia, 3/5
-Rambla triste: una turista ve el lado oscuro de Barcelona, 2/5
-El mirador: un espíritu solitario fija su interés en una mujer que se encuentra sufriendo, 2,5/5
-Dónde estás corazón: la protagonista desarrolla un fetiche por los sonidos del corazón y lo lleva a límites extremos, 3/5
-Carne: la muerte de un famoso cantante causa estragos a sus fans y las lleva a cometer actos grotescos, 5/5
-Ni cumpleaños ni bautismos: un joven es contratado para grabar a una chica que afirma estar poseída, 2/5
-Chicos que faltan: de la nada todos los niños desaparecidos en la ciudad aparecen, incluso los que estaban muertos, 5/5
-Los peligros de fumar en la cama: una mujer muere en un incendio causado por un cigarrillo, el título del libro y el que menos me gustó, 1/5
-Cuando hablábamos con los muertos: un grupo de amigas usan la ouija para contactar espíritus y la situación se les va de las manos, 5/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Death, Drug use, Gore, Medical trauma, and Sexual content

funkyauntjules's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

super gorgeous prose, lots of ghosts and gore (dope), lots of poop (not as dope)!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm and Body horror